Champion Hurdle Betting Sites Event Review: Jockeys, Horses and more

The following page is dedicated to taking you through every aspect of Champion Hurdle Betting. Read our complete and thorough guide in order to find out everything you need to know. We will tell you all about the different offers you can expect, the odds prices for the race and also give you historical info and facts about the widely-acclaimed race itself.

Champion Hurdle Betting Offers & Promotions

As one of the best horse races across the UK, online bookmakers create a wide selection of offers to allow the user to find great value. It is a huge event, and only happens once a year, which means that operators will try their utmost to create special offers to entice you to lay a bet on a horse. For example, some bookmakers may give you a free bet on the winner if you register with them and bet a minimum of £10, guaranteeing you a payout up to a maximum of £100. As it is a hurdle race, the best bookies will offer you money back if your horse falls. Other Champion Hurdle betting offers may include enhanced odds for backing certain horses, and payouts if your horse finishes fifth or even eighth.

Champion Hurdle Odds Prices

Just like with their enticing offers, bonuses and promotions, bookmakers realise that they must have great odds if they are going to stand out amongst the crowd. As thousands of people enjoy betting at the Champion Hurdle, bookmakers try and offer the best value they possibly can to make the customer bet with them. Therefore, when you are looking for a horse to back, try and survey a wide selection of operators before you make that all important decision.

Some Interesting Facts

Backing the favorite hasn’t always proved particularly valuable in this race. For example in the fifties, Sir Ken’s odds were only 2/5 – the shortest price horse to ever win the race – meaning a £5 bet would only have the potential to win around £2. Again in 1932, a bet on a horse to win was rather reductive as only three horses ran in the race!

Racecourse Information:
First held:	1860	Race location: Cheltenham Racecourse Mr Nicky Henderson, leading horse trainer
Duration:	4 days
Number of races:	28
Grades:	Grade 1 – ungraded
Surface:	Turf
Track:	Left-handed

Likewise, punters wishing to back Istabraq in 2001, running for an unprecedented fourth time, found themselves severely disappointed as the entire match was cancelled due to an outbreak of foot-and-mouth-disease. The race was initially sponsored by Waterford crystal from 1978, before the corrugated packaging company The Smurfit Kapp Group took it over in 1991. From 2010 onwards it has been sponsored by StanJames.com, leading the race to be officially known as the StanJames Champion Hurdle.

The race is the final leg of the Road to Cheltenham, consisting of the Elite Hurdle, the Greatwood Hurdle, the Morgiana Hurdle, Fighting Fifth Hurdle, the International Hurdle and the Champion Hurdle Trial. As the final race in this epic seven-part series, ending at the prestigious Cheltenham Festival, the Champion Hurdle is the grand culmination of everything great about horse racing. It is also part of the Triple Crown of Hurdling, a prize given to any horse that wins the Fighting Firth Hurdle, the Christmas Hurdle and the Champion Hurdle all in one season. Only one horse, Kribensis, has won all three races, although many have come close.

Historical Info

The race is now 90 years old, making it one of the most historically significant races in British History. The first race took place in 1927, where the first winner, Blaris, took home the prize money of £365. Quite small sums compared to today’s takings of £227,800! Then only four years later the race had to be abandoned due to persistent frost rendering the track unraceable. The race would be cancelled two more times during WW2 due to most of the jockeys serving in the British Army.

The golden era for the Champion Hurdle was between 1947-1955, when the winner was split between only three horses: National Spirit, Hatton’s Grace and Sir Ken, all considered to be the greatest hurdlers of all time. Yet the greatest of all races is considered to be the race of 1977. During that race Persian War beat dual Champion Hurdle winners Sea Pigeon and Monksfield to win the race for a third time. As of yet, no horse has ever won the race four times, although legendary jockeys Ruby Walsh and Tim Molony have both ridden different horses to win the race four times each.